Featured Images were taken from the episodes “Jungle Fever / The Caregiver”
Princess Adora/She-Ra, voiced by Melendy Britt
First seen in the episode “Into Etheria / She-Ra Unchained”
Adora is leader of the Great Rebellion and – unknown to most – is also the true identity of She-Ra Princess of Power.
Princess Adora was born to King Randor and Queen Marlena of the planet Eternia, along with her twin-brother Adam at around the time we would call Christmas.
At the time of their birth, the planet was being attacked by the Evil Horde, an intergalactic army terrorising thousands of worlds. Hordak, leader of the Evil Horde, soon realised that Eternia would not fall to the Horde’s onslaught and so he kidnapped Adora as revenge on the planet’s rulers.
He attempted to steal Adam too, but was stopped by Man-At-Arms – who was too late to reclaim Adora. Hordak escaped to another world via a secret portal.
Eternia was left grieving at the disappearance of the princess. To relieve their pain, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull cast a spell over the planet that wiped the memories of all Eternians, except herself, the King and Queen and Man-At-Arms.
Those who knew searched for her for many years, but their efforts came to nothing, leaving her parents wondering if she remained alive. [04]
Of course, Adora was still alive, but serving Hordak, unknowing of the identities of her real parents. [01,02]
Adora was being looked after by Chakra, the Horde’s caregiver for the young Hordesmen and women.
The two built a very close relationship – so, therefore, it is unsurprising that Chakra would later choose to join Adora in the Great Rebellion. [77]
It would also seem that Adora was close to Shadow Weaver, the Horde Witch who was the very person who cast a spell that made her blind to the Horde’s tyrannical reign. [02]
As she grew, Hordak became more aware of Adora’s potential and placed her under the command of General Sunder. [67]
However, he would later make her Horde Force Captain, a position which Catra would take over, commanding Troopers and villains alike. [01]
Adora didn’t seem to get along with any of her colleagues – and the feeling was mutual.
The only person who was a friend of Adora’s when she was in the Horde was Lohni – also her second-in-command.
However, Lohni soon left to fight against the Horde with Adora soon after she left to join the Great Rebellion. [14]
It was when she was 19 that her life really began to change.
Back on Eternia, the Sorceress was experiencing strange dreams, reminding her of Adora’s capture by Hordak.
A sword, not dissimilar to Prince Adam’s, appeared in front of her when she woke from her nightmare and led her to a previously unopened portal.
The door swung open, leaving the Sorceress to assume it was leading her to the sword’s rightful owner.
She contacted Prince Adam to seek out the person to whom the sword should belong and so he and Cringer ventured into the portal and into the magical world of Etheria. [01]
When he, as He-Man, found the one he came to find, he was shocked and momentarily stunned by a Horde Trooper.
He-Man was taken prisoner and Adora took the sword, curious of its secrets. [01]
After witnessing the Horde’s cruelty off the back of He-Man’s advice, Adora confronted the Horde leaders. However, just as it had proved powerful before, Shadow Weaver’s magic proved powerful again, causing the Princess to forget the horrors she had seen. [02]
Shadow Weaver’s magic, though, was nothing compared to the power of Castle Grayskull and, soon enough, Adora was contacted by the Sorceress, who revealed the truth to her.
Instinctively, Adora held aloft the Sword of Protection and called: For the honour of Grayskull! I AM SHE-RA!
Adora fulfilled her destiny by becoming She-Ra, Princess of Power. [03]
She-Ra was given several specific powers, besides her immense strength – communicating with animals [first in 05], healing the injured [first in 05] and transforming her sword into various different objects [first in 10].
In several instances, this transformation enabled her sword to have a mind of its own – her shield, without any warning could hover in mid-air and then magically ping back to its owner [56] and her rope could coil itself around objects without being told to [39].
However, the sword itself could also obey She-Ra’s every command – when told to ‘cut’, for example, it did so, foiling Catra’s plans in one episode [30].
The jewel in her sword was an ample weapon too, firing a powerful energy beam – a missile of sorts – able to destroy anything in its path [10, 77].
Click here to view a pictorial summary of the transformations employed by the Sword of Protection.
Adora returned to Eternia to meet her family and close friends for the first time soon after she left the Horde.
However, after a short stay, she told her parents that she would return to Etheria and dutifully help free her planet from Hordak.
Her parents were disappointed but understood and supported her reasons. [04, 05]
Only later in the series would Adora be reunited with her grandfather, Miro. Oddly enough, Miro seemed to remember Adora from her days as a baby, completely contradicting the earlier plot device of the Sorceress wiping all Eternians’ memories. [13]
Adam/He-Man would appear frequently in the series, either on social visits [13, 35, 81], to help out against the Horde [29, 83, 91] or after being transported to Etheria against his will. [15, 27]
After the Rebellion’s first victory over the Horde [05], we would soon discover that Adora had been appointed leader of the Great Rebellion. [07] This position would be put to the test several times throughout the series – Adora would have to speak publicly about her job so others would join the group [17], educate youngsters about how the Horde rules [26] and manage attacks on the Horde bases [53].
Just as she would have to manage the organisation of the Rebellion, her dilemmas involving her secret identity would frequently put Adora to the test.
Adora would lose her sword on several occasions [60, 82, 92], as well as her voice [17], and also her memory [57].
If these sticky-situations weren’t enough, Adora would also have to face social dilemmas involving those who did not know about her secret identity; asserting to her family that she 
would have to stay on Etheria to fight the Horde [05], proving to a young girl that she – as Adora – was not ‘just an ordinary woman’ [50] and teaching her friends that they had the power to defend themselves from attacks, to prevent them relying on her [66].
Perhaps her biggest physical achievement, however, was climbing to the summit of Skydancer Mountain unaided in order to seek the help of Light Hope to replace the cracked stone in her sword [21].
Adora’s role as a traitor to the Horde would be the focus of many an early episode [07, 14, 17] with only mild references made to her past as the series progressed. [57, 79, 93]
A
dora showed clear signs of affection for the pirate Sea Hawk when the pair first crossed paths [07].
This would be examined further later in the series, when she worried that Sea Hawk may prefer She-Ra’s company to her own. [16]
It is soon revealed that Hawk preferred spending romantic time with Adora, the pirate sealing his affections with a kiss. [59]
Sea Hawk also presented his ‘girlfriend’ with an enchanted locket, which would signal him via his own locket if Adora’s safety was ever endangered. [82]
She-Ra too was the apple of many a man’s eye.
Bow [12, 31, 52], Tarbin [61], and Orko’s Uncle Montork [65] all expressed a romantic interest in the Princess of Power.
Cartoon Appearances: Princess Adora
Season One – Total: 62/65
Into Etheria
Beast Island
She-Ra Unchained
Reunions
Battle for Bright Moon
Duel at Devlan
The Sea Hawk
The Red Knight
The Missing Ax
The Prisoners of Beast Island
The Peril of Whispering Woods
The Laughing Dragon
King Miro’s Journey
Friendship
He Ain’t Heavy
Return of the Sea Hawk
A Loss for Words
Horde Prime Takes A Holiday
Enchanted Castle
Three Courageous Hearts
The Stone in the Sword
The Crystal Castle
The Crown of Knowledge
The Mines of Mondor
Small Problems
Book Burning
The Eldritch Mist
Bow’s Farewell
Play It Again, Bow
The Reluctant Wizard
Friends Are Where You Find Them
A Talent for Trouble
Troll’s Dream
Gateway to Trouble
The Unicorn King
The Anxious Apprentice
Zoo Story
Into the Dark Dimension
Treasure of the First Ones
Glimmer’s Story
Enemy With My Face
Welcome Back, Kowl
The Rock People
Huntara
Micah of Bright Moon
The Price of Power
Birds of a Feather
Just Like Me
My Friend, My Enemy
The Wizard
Unexpected Ally
The Light of the Crystal
Loo-Kee Lends a Hand
Of Shadows and Skulls
Jungle Fever
Anchors Aloft Part I
Anchors Aloft Part II
Darksmoke and Fire
Magicats
Flowers for Hordak
Wild Child
The Greatest Magic
Season Two – Total: 25/28
One To Count On
Return Of The General
Out Of The Cocoon
A Lesson In Love
Something Old, Something New
Loo-Kee’sSweety
The Pearl
The Time Transformer
Above It All
Day Of The Flowers
Brigis
The Caregiver
When Whispering Woods Last Bloomed
Romeo And Glimmer
The Perils Of Peekablue
Just The Way You Are
The Locket
Shera Makes A Promise
Bow’s Magical Gift
Sweet Bee’s Home
Glimmer Come Home
The Inspector
Portrait of Doom
Hordak’s Power Play
The Bibbet Story
Cartoon Appearances: She-Ra
Season One – Total: 63/65
She-Ra Unchained
Reunions
Battle for Bright Moon
Duel at Devlan
The Sea Hawk
The Red Knight
The Missing Ax
The Prisoners of Beast Island
The Peril of Whispering Woods
The Laughing Dragon
King Miro’s Journey
Friendship
He Ain’t Heavy
Return of the Sea Hawk
A Loss for Words
Horde Prime Takes A Holiday
Enchanted Castle
Three Courageous Hearts
The Stone in the Sword
The Crystal Castle
The Crown of Knowledge
The Mines of Mondor
Small Problems
Book Burning
The Eldritch Mist
Bow’s Farewell
The Price of Freedom
Play It Again, Bow
The Reluctant Wizard
Friends Are Where You Find Them
A Talent for Trouble
Troll’s Dream
Gateway to Trouble
The Unicorn King
The Anxious Apprentice
Zoo Story
Into the Dark Dimension
Treasure of the First Ones
Glimmer’s Story
Enemy With My Face
Welcome Back, Kowl
The Rock People
Huntara
Micah of Bright Moon
The Price of Power
Birds of a Feather
For Want of a Horse
Just Like Me
My Friend, My Enemy
The Wizard
Unexpected Ally
The Light of the Crystal
Loo-Kee Lends a Hand
Of Shadows and Skulls
Jungle Fever
Black Snow
Anchors Aloft Part I
Anchors Aloft Part II
Darksmoke and Fire
Magicats
Flowers for Hordak
Wild Child
The Greatest Magic
Season Two – Total: 28/28
One To Count On
Return Of The General
Out Of The Cocoon
A Lesson In Love
Something Old, Something New
Loo-Kee’s Sweety
The Pearl
The Time Transformer
Above It All
Day Of The Flowers
Brigis
The Caregiver
When Whispering Woods Last Bloomed
Romeo And Glimmer
The Perils Of Peekablue
Just The Way You Are
The Locket
Shera Makes A Promise
Bow’s Magical Gift
Sweet Bee’s Home
Glimmer Come Home
The Inspector
Portrait of Doom
Hordak’s Power Play
Shades Of Orko
Assault On The Hive
The Bibbet Story
Swifty’s Baby